Moving on
by MISCrasyaboutfanfics
Summary: Peaches is faced with several things after the battle in Chicago. Rated T for angst, violence and a brief bonding scene in the last chapter. Some Sideways/OC.
1. Chapter 1

Moving on

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers; just Peaches, Abby, Crystal and any other characters that are my OCs. I also do not own the songs that Peach sings

Peaches had returned to Chicago after getting Abby and Crystal from Ashley. She and Sideways had driven a considerable distance to get back there; the latter had to watch the two little girls, one human and one Cybertronian, and keep them out of everyone's hair while the former had decided to get food and drink for the human volunteers who were working with the Autobots to clean up and rebuild after that last battle.

Walking through the mess, she couldn't help but shed a few tears for the civilians who had lost their lives. If anybody was buried under that rubble, there was no way they could have made it out of there alive. Peaches then saw something moving under a pile of debris; she immediately started digging through it and found a six year old redheaded boy, who had green eyes and a few freckles. His clothes, a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans, were dusty and he had a few cuts on his arms. His sandals looked like they were falling apart, even before had been trapped, and he had a look of wonder on his face as the red and orange Autobot carefully lifted him out, then called for a medic.

"Thanks Miss, Miss-what's your name?" he asked.

"Peaches" She replied.

"I'm Aaron." The small boy told his rescuer.

Aaron was soon taken away to be treated by the human emergency workers and Peaches continued on toward a still-partially intact Wal-Mart. She transformed into her human mode and started looking for non-perishable foods to feed the volunteers; she wasn't the only one who had this idea, as a few other humans, most of them employees of the store, had returned as well.

The Pretender was surprised to find out that the store being reconstructed was not going to happen just yet but the canned food she had found would be enough for about 10-20 humans to snack on after it was cooked. She had also put boxes of cereal into the cart she had, as well as a still-intact bag of potato chips that just needed the dust brushed off of it. Peaches went off, leaving the money that would have been paid to an actual cashier at this point with a former employee of the store who hadn't done that job before.

Carrying the groceries towards a medical tent and struggling not to drop anything, Peaches finally got into said tent offering the food to the volunteers. Among the volunteers was Robert Epps.

"Thanks Peaches" he said, a bit surprised as he had not seen her during the battle even though she was there.

"You're welcome." Peaches put the food down and had just turned around to leave when she heard her name being called.

"Peaches?" one of the human medics asked.

"Yes, I'm the only person nicknamed Peaches who is an Autobot who turns into a human." She replied.

The nurse led her to where Aaron was being bathed and cleaned up. He had gotten lucky; he had only two gashes despite the fact that it had looked like there were more and had both of these stitched up. He also had an oxygen tank.

"He'll wake up soon" was what was told to the Pretender. "We heard him say he wanted 'Miss Peaches' to visit him before he was given the anesthetic and the stitches."

Peaches was surprised; this kid, who she had just met and was tempted to forget about after he had been put in safe hands wanted to see his rescuer to thank her at the very least. She wasn't even sure how to explain this to Optimus Prime but honestly hoped that he would understand.

Peaches stayed, and then looked away as Aaron was covered with a blanket. She looked again an hour later as he asked "What's going to happen to me now?"

The Pretender wasn't sure how to answer. "I don't know." She replied.

Her phone rang. "Please excuse me." She said, then went outside and answered the phone "Hello?"

"Peaches, we need your help." Optimus said over the phone, and then gave her his coordinates.

"All right; I'm coming." Peaches said. She hung up the phone and bid Aaron goodbye. She was then driven by Bumblebee over to where the Decepticons' ship had crashed into the river. She immediately stripped down to her underwear and dove in, convinced that Wheelie and Brains were still alive.

"Peaches, don't-"Ratchet started to say but the Pretender was now swimming underwater.

Optimus waited but only for 5 minutes as Peaches was a fast swimmer and didn't actually need to breathe as a real human would have to. She resurfaced and handed the unconscious but still alive ex-Decepticon drones to Ratchet. She then transformed into her robot mode and sat down.

"Optimus, I don't know what to do now…" the orange and red femme sighed.

The last Prime put one hand on her shoulder and handed the Pretender a data pad that had several pages with the other hand; his arm that had come off had been reattached by Ratchet earlier and he was now allowed to move it. "This was left in the rubble; I can only assume Sentinel wrote it since it does not match the penmanship of any of the Decepticons. It is addressed to you."

Peaches took it and started reading it, surprised that Sentinel would think anything of her since Sideways had mentioned that when the renegade Prime had been keeping him prisoner, there were several insults towards her. Those included "just some soldier", "glitch", "unworthy", etc. She expected it to be full of those and similar insults but as it turned out, it wasn't:

_Dear Peaches,_

_I know you and Optimus can never forgive me for what I've done and I understand that. It's hard to explain why I did this but I hope that after reading what I have to say here, you'll understand it better. I assume you survived the battle if you are indeed taking the time to look at this. _

_If it seems like I really think those things that I've told Sideways, it was a staged thing. The truth is, I am a bit jealous. I know what you're thinking: "Optimus was never jealous of anybody and neither were some of the other Primes, except of course for the Fallen. How can you be jealous of me when I'm not high-ranking and am almost nothing in your optics?" The only simple answer is that you have been fortunate to not have known the horrors of war when you were first sparked. You've lived in a mostly peaceful time and thought of yourself as one of the "90s kids" as the humans who were raised during that time period nicknamed themselves. I can't confirm it for sure but I can only say that the humans who raised you rubbed off on you enough so that you could be sympathetic to others and ignorant of what your programming could have been. Yes, I do think Abigail and Crystal are cute. That is not sarcasm, it is the truth, as is the fact that they have been able to live together despite humans having hostility to all Cybertronians thanks to you teaching them not to see differences but similarities. You have had things that I could only dream of having; a family of your own, success in getting a Decepticon to join the Autobots' side of the war, and the nuts and bolts to defend your unusual kin when the humans you grew up with insulted them and wanted to take Abigail away. Consider yourself fortunate and be thankful for what you have, even if it's not a lot._

_You mentioned your dreams of taking in human children who have not been as fortunate as you and giving them a place to call home and if possible, taking in sparklings as well. I would have thought that ridiculous if you had not told me the story of the human known as Walt Disney and how he kept working even when all of the odds were against him to make films to be enjoyed by all audiences. That being said, my last request is that you follow that dream even with the hostilities that humans may have after all of this is over. _

_Music is another thing entirely; I heard you singing along with the radio while Optimus and you were showing me around Earth. Needless to say, you really bring out the emotion that the songwriters were hoping to convey if any. One of those songs is "Iridescent"; I encourage you to listen to it again because you're going to have to let go of what has happened eventually. I asked why you didn't want to be a human celebrity with as good of a voice as that and you responded that you did not want to have the same stage name as another artist and that you would rather keep your private life out of public eyes. _

At this point, Peaches started having a flashback to that day.

(3 days ago)

Optimus Prime had insisted that Peaches come with him to show Sentinel around Earth, at least some of the part they were on anyways. Needless to say, the 3rd of them was surprised but relented due to Peaches living there the longest. Hence, the Pretender was now in Sentinel Prime's cab in her human form and singing along with the radio

**Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?**

**You build up hope but failure's all you've known**

**Remember all the sadness and frustration and let it go**

**Let it go**

The red Autobot didn't get it; was this normal for Peaches to do? When he asked, she answered yes it was and how the song related to her life and why she did not want to be a human celebrity but rather an Autobot.

"I know that Starscream will get what's coming to him one of these days, whether or not it's by my servos." The Pretender explained, trying not to let the sadness show on her face. "I could forgive Sideways for whatever he did but that's because he's my sparkmate. Whether I forgive anybody else is another story entirely."

Sentinel changed the subject by asking about any other songs Peaches liked; she switched the station and began singing along with the song "What a wonderful world" and began looking out of the cab windows at everything passing by, just appreciating the beauty of everything there. She was crying by the end of the song.

"Look at me, most people listen to that song without a 2nd thought but-well, I don't' know what I look like but it's not like a good soldier of Optimus Prime's crying like this." She said through tears.

"Anybody can cry, even me." Optimus said over the comlink.

Peaches sobbed into the seat, not that Sentinel minded. He searched the human website "Yahoo" and saw several answers as to whether crying was a sign of weakness. He quoted one of the answers a user had posted to that question '"Crying is a strength when you feel better after doing it"'.

(End flashback)

Peaches continued reading the letter, even though she was now getting emotional all over again.

_No words can describe how you made me feel; a little reluctant about going through with the deal with Megatron and more so guilty about what I was about to do doesn't even begin to describe it. I know "I'm sorry" will not cut it in this case. We need more Cybertronians and humans who care as much as you do and I honestly think that you could be as influential as Optimus even without being a Prime. _

_I still find it hard to believe that you could try to take me on in a one on one fight after I told everyone the truth, even though it was a losing battle. I don't blame you for wanting to do any crazy thing to protect everybody else, even if it meant leaving everyone behind. I can't even imagine how you feel/felt about Abby and Crystal not growing up knowing their true origins as had to be done to Optimus Prime to protect him from the Fallen. Yet in this brief time that I've been able to be around you, I feel respect for you for you wanting to follow your gut feeling instead of orders as well as an appreciation for your compassion to those who have less than you._

_I have to ask you though; if you were in my position, would you understand how hard of a decision it was for me to make that deal? I won't be surprised if you'd answer "no" as you have not been to Cybertron. There are a lot who do the wrong things for the right reasons, one example being a human in the Disney film _The Hunchback of Notre Dame _and how he commits evil in the name of God. You could have chosen to join the Decepticons and yet you joined the Autobots and their human allies, even with the threat of death to you, Crystal, Sideways and possibly others close to you from Megatron. As it is, I am pretty sure that Starscream will soon get his comeuppance before the day is over._

_If there's anything I want you to remember, it's these 3 things. 1, wherever you hid Abby and Crystal, they're safe and the Decepticons can't hurt them. 2, Optimus learned a lot from me before this whole mess so long ago and only the "good" traits and 3, any songs that talk about forgiveness and moving on after all of this is over, finished. Feel free to show Optimus this letter as he needs to see it too. Since "I'm sorry" doesn't cut it, I don't know what else to say to you after all I've done. It hurts me to write this but I do it because I want you to know these things and that I actually think highly of you despite your place in life._

_Sincerely,_

_Sentinel Prime_

_P.S. Here's a quote that I think will help: "You can't always choose what happens to you but you can choose what you make of it"-Solus Prime_

Peaches didn't know what to make of this. She asked Optimus "1, who was Solus Prime and 2, why did Sentinel write this to me and not to you?"

"Solus Prime was the first female Cybertronian as well as a member of the Dynasty of Primes." Optimus Prime explained, a bit guilty after killing a surrendering enemy. "I do not know the answer to the 2nd question you have but it has to have been a specific reason."

"Peaches, Prime, I've got good news for you; Wheelie and Brains are in fact functioning." Ratchet said.

The two Autobots then went over to the medic and saw the two drones, now stabilized and having all of the water drained out of them. They would not wake up until later that night though, according to Ratchet's best guess.

"Phew." Peaches started smiling a little bit, glad for just a little bit more good news in an aftermath of a horrible battle. "Thank God we still have some hope for better times ahead after hearing this."

Optimus looked at the letter then found something else attached to it, addressed to him:

_Should you return, these are the coordinates for several surviving hatchlings who were meant to be activated by Megatron but weren't for lack of time. If you come into possession of them, please take care of them._

The Autobot leader read the coordinates and immediately went with the Wreckers and Elita to see the hatchlings for themselves. Bumblebee was currently with Sam and Carly although what they were doing and where they were no one knew. Peaches remained behind to continue doing whatever rescue work needed to be done. She shed tears for Ironhide, Wheeljack, the humans, and even Skids and Mudflap, who had given up their own lives to protect Bumblebee. She even found herself shedding tears for Sentinel despite her hostility towards the corrupt Prime. "I can't take it anymore!" she shouted. "Why, Sentinel, why write that letter to me? You know I'm not going to believe anything you said much less consider forgiving you! You're lucky Optimus got to you before I did! I'll never trust anybody else besides my current teammates again!"

Peaches transformed into her human mode and ran into a porter-potty to change into dry clothes that she had with her. After doing so, she came out, sat down on the ground and buried her face into her hands. She was soon picked up by someone familiar; it was Sunstreaker who did so and let her bury her face into his shoulder.

"Sunny." Sideswipe started to say.

"I don't care about Peaches ruining my paint job; that can be replaced while certain other things and our comrades can't be." The yellow mech said sadly.

Sideswipe then took Peaches from his brother and gave her a hug as well. "Let it out Peach; we'll get the other 'cons that are still scattered all over the world and beat the pulp out of them since Optimus already got Megatron and Sentinel."

Peaches didn't say anything as she hadn't been listening but little did she know that things would soon get better, bit by bit.


	2. Chapter 2

Moving on chapter 2

It was no surprise to Sideways that his former team had caused destruction like this. He hated to see everything that was going on; rescue workers comforting children whose parents were missing, one father struggling not to cry as he identified his son, several humans blaming both Autobots and Decepticons for their pain and so much more. He was watching the goings on from a parking garage and was in robot mode and playing with his daughters; he felt fortunate that he was still able to have Abby and Crystal as well as Peaches still alive and yet he couldn't help but feel sorry.

If he could have one wish, it would have been to go back in time to prevent Sentinel from making that deal in the first place but then, how many things would that affect? What if he wouldn't get to be with Peaches because of it? That would have happened along with the following: Crystal wouldn't exist, Abby would be dead, and Ashley would have committed suicide after dealing with cyber bullying for so long. Also, he would probably be rotting in the Pit if anything and not have gotten a 2nd chance to live. Sideways thought of these things and realized that all of them would be true. Still, it didn't change how horrible he had felt about all of this and the fact that all of the pain that Cybertronians and humans alike had been needless.

The ex-Decepticon looked at his two clueless toddlers; both were laughing and hugging their stuffed animals. He had to smile a little; time would go on, everyone would learn to be happy again and Chicago would be restored to its former glory but it would take a very long time. He did hope though that Crystal and Abby would not have to see their mother being constantly sad over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, that same evening, Peaches had seen Wheelie and Brains awaken and the two kept hugging her and thanking her for getting them out of the river. Ratchet put a stop to it, telling the two drones that they needed their rest and the Pretender left them and started walking to where Sideways had taken the two sparklings.

Most didn't think much about walking except if they encountered someone who couldn't. Peaches didn't mind this so much since she sometimes felt that she was a burden to the other Autobots as they had vehicle modes and she had a human form. If she had been still in D.C., she would wait for the time when she was off of her shift and, providing that it wasn't closed, would ride the Washington Metrorail system to another part of the city and then walk to the museums or would go onto the Washington Mall and look at the landmarks around the area before riding the rail system back to the station nearest to NEST base then walking back into base to eat and recharge. When she did that, it gave her a sense of comfort and familiarity as she had ridden the DC Metro numerous times with her parents and had seen most of the Smithsonian museums with them. Sometimes, she would stop at the Pentagon Metro station, ride the escalator up to the outside, and then walk over to the September 11th memorial and to contemplate the mass casualty incidents that happened in her lifetime. Of course, the fatalities on the Metro system did not stop her from riding it since she had always felt safe and knew that the chances of those types of events happening were very small. Yet when they did happen, she couldn't help but feel terrible and not want to talk to anyone as well as sit in her room and cry and then gorge herself on human junk food, much to Ratchet's chagrin.

It especially saddened Peaches when children had died; it was one reason why she wanted so badly to help kids who were in a bad home situation, had been abandoned, or had to deal with the loss of everything as Aaron had. Whether the orange and red femme would be allowed to adopt another human child was another matter entirely and would involve a lot of paperwork. The Pretender sighed sadly as she walked into the parking garage and went back over to her family to talk with them to get her mind off of everything…

3 days later, Peaches was feeling only slightly better; she had given away most of her stuffed animals to kids, had passed food out to volunteers, and had briefly chatted with Wheelie and Brains. Today was the day when the funeral for the fallen Autobots was to be held. Optimus Prime told her that she could tell her own stories after the formal eulogy was given.

She was sobbing sadly and in her robot mode as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker stood beside her to give her comfort. The orange and red femme was surprised that the latter was not complaining about his paint job for once but wasn't thinking of that.

Peaches got up to say what she wanted to say after Optimus Prime and Colonel Lennox had finished speaking. She said "I know just as well as everyone else that there are things about each of these individuals that we would say we're not going to miss; the explosions from Wheeljack's lab, Skids and Mudflap's stupidity, Ironhide showing off his cannons and so much more. As fellow Autobots and sentient beings, I will miss them. Especially Ironhide since he taught me everything he knows and was the one who gave me most of my training when I first joined NEST."

She then continued with her favorite memories of her teammates. The Pretender then felt the need to say something else, something she'd never thought she'd say. "Even though Sentinel was a jerk and a turncoat, I still feel the need to say something about him that's good. He did teach Optimus Prime everything he knows and I think this song would be the best way to describe him."

Peaches started singing Linkin Park's "Leave out all the rest" to the surprise and tears of many of her human and Cybertronian teammates. When she was done, she politely excused herself and walked back to the warehouse where she, Sideways and their daughters had been sleeping to sit and think. It was now getting to be the evening and the sun was going down. She looked up, a bit surprised at what she saw.

The faces of Jolt, her parents, her human cousin, Ironhide, Wheeljack, and the Chevy twins seemed to have formed from the stars that were coming out. If that were possible, Peaches could have sworn she saw them smiling again and heard a familiar voice saying "Thank you Peaches."

"Sentinel, if it's possible for me to forgive you, it's still not going to be until I'm ready to let go of all of this." The orange and red femme sighed and was convinced she was really hearing his voice. "Maybe I'm crazy but what I'm saying is true."

"Peaches, I still love you if you're crazy." Sideways said as he walked in, carrying a recharging Crystal in his arms.

"Thanks; where's Abby?" she asked, suddenly worried.

"She's right here."

Sam had followed Sideways and was holding the human toddler in his arms. Abby then said "Up, Mommy!"

"Shush, your sister's sleeping." Peaches said, trying not to laugh as she took her oldest daughter from the human man who had once been a college student. "Thanks Sam for not giving up on us and for making sure that my daughter is safe and sound."

"You're welcome Peach." He replied, not sure if she really meant it. Sam then called Carly in and the British woman introduced herself to the Pretender.

"So, you're from the place where 'pants' was once considered a dirty word, color, favorite and other words are spelled with Us and you have to wear uniforms to public school?" Peaches asked.

"There's more to it than just those things." Carly replied, slightly offended at the orange and red femme's question.

"I know, I know, sorry!" Peaches quickly said. "Can you tell me a little bit about it and whether you actually like or hate America?"

Carly calmed down long enough to do so, and as she told about her life on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Abby fell asleep, Sideways took his oldest daughter and laid her down next to his youngest daughter on a blanket, and Peaches began to focus more on the story rather than what had recently happened.

Later when Carly and Sam had bid them good night and found their own sleeping spaces on the concrete floor, Sideways and Peaches settled down next to each other.

"You know, she's not that bad; you just got to be careful about what you say around her." Sideways pointed out the obvious

"Yeah, Mikaela wasn't as easily offended by anything." Peaches sighed sadly, wondering what had happened to her after she and Sam had unexpectedly broken up.

The orange and red femme then started thinking about Aaron and what was going to happen to him. She knew it wasn't likely that she'd get to raise a second human child but she remembered that she and Sideways could deal with it. When she asked him, the ex-Decepticon replied "I just want him to get a good home and only the best; same with everyone else who has been affected by what's happened."

"You're right but still, he likes me and doesn't want me to go away when I have to end my visits with him and the other humans who are recovering from injuries they received from the Decepticon invasion." Peaches replied. "I don't want to leave him either…I'll have to ask Optimus though."

She recharged that night, slightly confused as to what choice she should make and wondering what would become of the boy who had thought of her as an "angel".

Author's note: This was going to be longer but I have to stop here so that it won't be too long. Hope you enjoyed it and can wait for a while before I post the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's note: This chapter homages Botosphere's work because their stories are awesome and even though I've only read a few of them, I plan to read the other ones ASAP.

It was later that same night when Peaches woke up crying. She had been having nightmares of the last few nights of generic Decepticons having killed all of her friends, her sparkmate, her children, her dog, and Aaron. The orange Pretender would then hear evil laughter and then wake up.

She immediately got up and started walking around the block, pacing back and forth in an attempt to tire herself out again.

"Peaches, will you please go back into recharge?" someone asked her.

Peaches turned and saw Ratchet. She didn't want to say anything about her nightmare and would rather let Optimus and Elita One rest for a while instead of talking to them. She was still confused about what she would do about the situation with Aaron and more or less, and after nearly 2 days of shock and denial, was at the 2nd stage of grief, that being anger.

"What does it look like I'm trying to do?" Peaches almost shouted. "I can't get back to sleep. I feel the need to adopt that kid that I rescued, I want revenge, and I had food thrown at me yesterday along with numerous other things while trying to help out! Those humans were lucky that Leadfoot and Roadbuster stopped me before I went after them!"

"Frankly, I'm shocked that they were the ones to do so." Ratchet replied calmly. "Regardless of that, taking everything out on the humans who hate us isn't going to fix anything."

"Surprise, surprise, Mr. 'You break it, I'll remake it'. It's easier for you to deal with death than it is for me since I've seen less of it!" The Pretender stated, the first sentence being sarcastic.

"That's not necessarily true and you know it!" the Autobot medic was trying to keep himself calm and barely succeeding at doing so.

Peaches stomped off saying "Don't you dare follow me!", walking off in another direction.

Ratchet shook his head sadly; he had been trying to tell Optimus to get her and her family away from Chicago in order to help them with moving past all of this but he knew that wasn't going to change Peaches' memories of everything. He remembered her reaction when Ironhide had been executed…

(Flashback)

Peaches couldn't even cry when she saw Sentinel shoot Ironhide and the latter of the two mechs rusting away instantly. She then picked up one of her own rifles and one of Sideways' blades. She started running towards the turncoat Prime.

"Sentinel Prime, you jerk! How could you do that to Optimus? Working with the 'cons like that and making a-a deal of all things!" she shouted as she ran towards him.

"Is it not that different then Sideways betraying the Decepticons to be with you?" he asked.

"Leave me out of this and it is different!" Sideways quickly came to her defense. "I love Peaches and my kids more than the universe itself! Optimus Prime and the other Autobots are like our family and we will fight to protect them whether it's against humans, Decepticons or traitors, especially you!"

"Sideways get the girls out of here!" Peaches ordered him.

The ex-Decepticon did so, and Ratchet could swear he was hearing Crystal yell "Tunnel bad boy!" and that didn't even begin describe everything that the Prime had turned out to be.

Peaches lunged herself at Sentinel, opting to go for hand to hand combat instead of using weapons. The fight lasted about 3 minutes, ending when the orange and red femme was knocked to the ground and unable to get up.

Ratchet took it upon himself to take the Pretender to the medbay. As he did so, he heard her scream "You'll pay for this dick!"

"Peaches please calm down." The medic said, as he got her onto the examination table.

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down? One of Optimus Prime's relatives betrays us, kills Ironhide, Skids and Mudflap, and is being worse than a jerk! How can anyone remain calm in the midst of all of that?" she screamed, letting her anger overtake her. She also had a few tears streaming down her face.

Ratchet sighed. He wasn't sure how to answer that question.

(End flashback)

Ratchet went after Peaches and grabbed her. "You are not going off anywhere by yourself as long as I'm here."

"I'm not talking to you!" she shouted, as she tried to get free from his grasp.

Topspin had heard the commotion and assisted the medic with getting the Pretender off of the street, although she had managed to smash whatever glass windows had not been shattered while swinging her fists. Ratchet then gave Peaches a sedative and within a couple of seconds, she was out of it.

"How long should that last?" Topspin asked.

"At least until 8:00 a.m." Ratchet replied. "Hopefully, she will talk about whatever's been keeping her awake soon."

They didn't know it but Peaches was about to get some help that very night…

The orange and red femme found herself in a place that was a bit like where Sam found himself when he "died" in Egypt. Only it wasn't ancient Primes that she was seeing. Am I dead, Peaches thought, not liking the idea as she knew of several people who needed her.

"What's going on here? Is any of this real?" she asked, covering up her fear with anger.

"Paige Kathleen Smith come over here. You are not offline." someone said.

The Pretender was doubtful about everything but still seemed to feel the need to listen. She turned to see who it was and was a bit surprised. "Optimus! What are you doing in my dream?" She was now more surprised and had forgotten most of her anger from earlier. "Did Ratchet tell you-"

"He did tell me what happened earlier." Optimus replied. "Regardless of whether this is a dream or not, there are some very real things that you have to be told."

Peaches backed away and let anger overtake her again. "I can't listen Optimus; I don't want to trust anybody else besides those people that I've already known for sometime! Nothing's going to make me feel better!"

"And does the list of people you've known for sometime not include myself?" he asked. The Autobot leader walked over to the Pretender and put his hand on her shoulder, as he had done numerous times when she needed comfort.

It did include him; the orange and red femme realized this. "I just don't know what to think of Primes in general anymore after the Fallen and Sentinel having both turned to the dark side. I still trust you Optimus, it's just that-it's more complicated than you think!"

"Sideways already told me about Aaron." Optimus Prime explained. "I would not mind letting you adopt him although the humans would probably think otherwise."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! I don't trust humans as much since some of them were working with the 'cons, like Carly's boss Mr. Gould; Sam explained everything to me and what he did to that guy. I know Ashley would never do anything wrong to me, neither would my human relatives or most of the other human NEST members and that Abby's just a toddler. I know Aaron's just a kid too but I still don't know whether I should take him in. I can't tell him 'no, I'm not taking care of you' but at the same time, I don't want him to feel horrible about not having a 'normal family' or the Decepticons that are remaining to have another reason to target my loved ones." Peaches sighed. "What if someone was working for them and had to kidnap him or Abby and that someone was someone i happened to know? I don't think I can handle it. And what would Jolt think of me acting like this? Heck, how are you even talking to me like this? It's got to be the sedative Ratchet gave me!"

(Optimus Prime's POV)

The Autobot leader wasn't sure how to explain how Cybertronian bonds worked but decided he would do so anyways to calm the Pretender down. Sure, he didn't play favorites but still, he couldn't help but think of Peaches as a daughter as she thought of him as a father figure. When he was done, Peaches asked something that he wasn't expecting.

"Can a person adopted by a Cybertronian have the same parent/child bond that anyone who was 'biologically' his/her child would have?"

"No, it is an entirely differrent bond but a bond nonetheless." Optimus explained. "In a sense, you were adopted by me when your human parents agreed with your decision to join NEST and I have yet to break my promise to them of keeping you safe."

"So that's how you're doing this! Have you always known what my dreams were or what?" Peaches was now confused.

"Unintetionally, as you have yet to learn to block your end of the bond but with time you will be able to." he answered. "If you wish to talk verbally instead, I will do so. I would never intentionally invade your privacy for any reason."

"Well, I can't stand the idea and it's going to take me time to get used to it. As for an unrelated issue, I suppose I can ask Aaron whether he wants to stay with Sideways and I and then I'll make my decision depending on the answer." the Pretender sighed sadly. "Still, that stupid nightmare...may as well show it to you since I can't use words to describe it."

Soon enough, the orange and red femme took Optimus Prime's hand and both seemed to "disappear" into a storm. Peaches was in fact right; no words could describe what was being shown. He had his own anger at the idea of any remaining 'cons killing everyone the Pretender cared about but sent a wave of reassurance to her over the bond. They soon appeared again in the same place that they were before.

"There you have it." Peaches was now crying all over again. "I can't believe how strong this bond actually is...thanks Optimus for letting me show you that. You've been there more times than I can count on one hand; the day my human parents died, the day I found out who my Cybertronian parents were, when Crystal was kidnapped by the 'Cons...so many examples that I can't list them all."

"You are very welcome Peaches; we will get through everything we're going to face the next few days, weeks, and perhaps months ahead even though it will not be overnight." Optimus couldn't help but smile.

He seemed to "leave" her there and was soon "back in the real world" so to speak.

"Is she all right now?" Elita asked.

"For the time being, she will be fine." he replied. "I don't know if I can say the same thing about anyone else..."

Author's note: Yeah, you'll know next chapter whether Peaches gets to adopt Aaron or not...don't know when I'll get to that though.


	4. Chapter 4

Moving on chapter 4

The next morning, Peaches was less angry but still occasionally glaring at humans who were making insults towards the Autobots.

"Peaches, you come over here. Elita and I wish to talk to you." Optimus said.

The orange and red femme sighed and transformed into her human mode. She walked over to her leader and stated "Optimus, I'm sorry-I just can't control myself after all that's happened…"

"It's not about that." Elita One explained. "It is about the hatchlings; Optimus and Ratchet are going to transport them back to base and they need you and Sideways to come along."

"Why is that?" Peaches wondered.

"We explained to several humans why you wanted to adopt Aaron; it turns out that he wishes to be part of your family too and you and Sideways will have to attend a meeting to decide whether that is possible." Optimus answered.

"It's going to be harder to convince them than when Sideways and I adopted Abby." The Pretender stated. "I'm willing to take him in if no one else will; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't. I just have to make sure all of my things are together and prepare my family for the 13 hour drive back to D.C. that will possibly last longer because we all know how bad traffic can get in that area."

Optimus and Elita laughed at the last sentence and then the former said "Let us know when you are ready and do not worry about last night; Ratchet has already forgiven you."

It was a surprise to Peaches but she told Optimus that he could rely on her; she then went to vent before packing Abby's and Crystal's things. She looked towards the bridge where the last battle had taken place, remembering how Sideways had been tied up there and what she had heard when she had been freeing him during the final battle between Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime…

(Flashback)

The chains were heavy but that was not going to stop her from getting him out of there. Peach had managed to untie one of the chains and was slowly unwinding them from around Sideways. Even so, she couldn't help but occasionally scoop up a NEST soldier and put them in a safe location. She saw Optimus and Sentinel battling and heard what they were saying.

"I bring you Cybertron our home and still you chose humanity!" Sentinel stated.

"You were the one who taught me that freedom was everyone's right!" Optimus Prime replied, in a tone that Peach was sure came from the sense of burning justice.

"I will re-trigger that pillar!"

"Then you'll have to go through me!"

Peaches pulled out the one chain she had managed to untangle from the group of them that surrounded her sparkmate, worried about her leader and everyone else. She had just gotten a comlink message stating that Wheeljack was no more and knowing that she could not deal with Optimus dying permanently, she began praying to Primus to help him out.

"Kick his butt!" Sideways shouted loudly to Optimus as his sparkmate continued untying him and watching the fight at the same time, and surprisingly doing a very good job multitasking.

"One of these days, I've got to get you to stop watching those Spy Kids movies." The femme muttered to herself, untying the rest of the chains.

It was just after Sentinel had been executed that Peaches had finished untying the ex-Decepticon and had hugged him, knowing that he and her kids would be safe…

(End flashback)

Peaches took out a data-pad and started scribbling a poem. She wasn't sure what the other reasons were that Optimus had for choosing Earth over Cybertron but wanted to get hers out. Sure, Sentinel wouldn't hear it but the Pretender thought that this was the best way to get her feelings out.

She then shouted "Did you hear that Sentinel? I am following my dream of taking kids out of bad situations and nothing is going to stop me! I will never forgive you as you already know but why Ironhide? Why not me? I'd give anything to have him and Wheeljack here…I miss the big cannons, their explosions, the jokes I made about them that didn't offend them-you can never understand! I'll never understand you either you jerk but I'm fine with that!" Peaches paused. "Even though I am yelling at a dead mech and shouldn't be."

Sideways had already packed Abby's and Crystal's things and was walking up to the Pretender, carrying the two kids. "I think you're going to need a lot therapy." He stated.

"I know that damn it!" Peaches screamed. She then calmed down. "Sorry about that love. I shouldn't be yelling in front of the girls."

"It's not that; Optimus knows you're trying to push us away and you need to stop. It's making everything worse." He explained.

"I can handle this myself!" the orange and red femme argued.

She then swore she heard someone say _Listen to him Peaches. He's right_.

It had sounded very much like Ironhide but Peaches knew that wasn't possible. She just followed her family back to the parking garage to check for anything they forgot to pack.

Soon the small family was prepared for the journey; Abby and Crystal were both in the back seat, the latter in her human form and also in a car seat like her older sister was and Peaches sitting in human form in the passenger's seat of her sparkmate's vehicle mode. She soon fell asleep, not really thinking about much except getting to D.C.

(Optimus Prime's POV 1st person log entry)

Never have I seen one of my teammates as upset as Peaches was today. I can only hope that she gets past the current stage of grief that she is at. Aaron, the boy she and Sideways wish to adopt, has been riding in my vehicle mode's front cab. He is excited despite everything and his having attended his own mother's funeral last night.

Now though, he and Abby are making a "pit stop" as the humans say and Sideways, Ratchet and I have parked at a rest area to allow them to go inside with Peaches and relieve themselves. The 30 hatchlings are still safe in my trailer, thank Primus, and still alive.

There have been many bad attitudes from humans and a few Autobots over these last few days. To think that Aaron has such a positive attitude is amazing and inspiring. It reminds me of a story that Peaches had once shown me on a website for the local ABC station near D.C. about a boy who had been battling brain cancer and still kept a positive attitude even though he knew he only had months to live.

I only wish that Peaches will be able to move on very soon; it is not a surprise that she has blocked her end of our bond and wasn't thinking about her family yesterday. I can not force her to change that but I can be there if she does decide to.

Aaron is now back and asking me "What if the worst happens and I don't get to stay with them?" He is worried about not getting adopted Peaches and Sideways due to how strange the other humans would think it would be if he was.

I answer him "Stay positive and keep your spirit high."

It is all that we can do as we continue our journey back to D.C….

(Peaches POV, 3rd person)

When she got back into Sideways (and it was weird to say that), Peaches looked towards the backseat; Aaron had decided to ride between his soon to be sisters after telling Optimus that he wanted to do that. The Pretender smiled despite the situation; she knew this boy needed her more than she needed to hold a grudge against those who had wronged her teammates. She still wasn't ready to forgive though; that would probably take weeks or months at the most, possibly longer.

The Pretender settled down into recharge, unaware of what her next dream would consist of but at least glad that she wouldn't have to hear Sideways complain about traffic jams if they got stuck in one...

Author's note: Yeah, this is short because I got lazy. Sorry about that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Author's note: I'm sorry about forgetting to describe Crystal's human form; she is a blond, as opposed to Peaches' human form, that of a brunette.

Peaches once again seemed to be somewhere that she didn't expect to be; the beach on Diego Garcia was the location this time around and she was in her human mode as she had recharged in that form. "My god, I miss this place." She muttered.

"You're not the only one." Someone said.

She turned around and saw a certain other blue mech she had known for a while. "Jolt!" she shouted, her optics filling with tears of both sadness and happiness.

"Peach, I'm not here to touch." He stated. "I miss you a lot too; you're the first best friend that I've ever had."

"How did you know I was going to say that I miss you?" the Pretender asked, slightly surprised.

"It's because I know you too well." Jolt replied.

Peaches then seemed to slip out of her dream world, crying out for her best friend…

The orange and red femme was being shaken by Aaron, who had told her that they had arrived at NEST base. She then got Abby and Crystal out of Sideways so that he could transform into robot mode. She herself transformed to her said robot form and then led the kids to her family's quarters, where the toddler beds for the 2 youngest were set up once more. I thought no one was here to set those up, Peaches thought.

"Peaches!" someone shouted.

Peaches turned around; it was Ashley, her best human friend, who had just walked into the room. "You've finally returned!" the Pretender shouted excitedly. She then saw a certain white dog and heard it barking. "Snowball!"

The dog ran up to her mistress, who immediately started gently petting her with one hand.

"Wait, how did you-" Peaches was surprised.

"Let's just say Sideways pulled a few strings so that I could return to my job here." Ashley replied.

Optimus Prime had now walked in after helping Ratchet and Sideways get the hatchlings out of his trailer. He had heard everything. "Welcome back Ashley; how is your mother doing?" he inquired.

"She's fine." the human woman replied. "She's been in remission for a while and now that Tanya's going to go to a boarding school for talented kids in the fall, my dad can take of my mom and not get so stressed out, except when it comes to the money and making sure that whoever takes care of my little sister does a good job but we will manage."

The Autobot leader smiled. He had to wonder how Sideways had done it but decided to save his questions about it for later when he and his teammates were not in need of recharge.

Soon enough everyone, even Peaches, was settled down for a good night's sleep if you will. The Pretender herself soon found that she would be surprised at the next thing she would show Optimus through a bond dream.

Author's note: still having a bit of writer's block so no idea when I'll get the next chapter up. Sorry.


	6. Chapter 6

Moving on chapter 6

(Bond dream sequence)

Peaches found herself on the beach again with Optimus; she knew she shouldn't get too used to this of course since she wouldn't always share dreams and memories over her bond with him but still, it was nice to be able to communicate without worrying about Decepticons or anyone else overhearing them.

"Optimus" The red and orange Pretender wasn't sure how to start with what she wanted to say. She had so many mixed emotions all over again when going to bed; happiness for the return of her dog in her life and for Aaron being open to the idea of being in her family, sadness that she and Sideways would be living off base in at least a month regardless of whether they adopted the boy or not, being at the stage of grief where one said "I'd do anything to have this person still alive" and mistrust of everyone else new that she would encounter at some point in her long life after what Sentinel Prime had done as anyone who she had told would already know but she hadn't told anyone aside from Optimus, Elita, and Sideways. "I don't know why but I want to show you one of my memories of my life as a human, specifically the first time I made a difference in someone's life other than my human parents. Besides, it's time I took a break from thinking about what has happened recently and this is a good way of doing so."

Though he had known humans for years, civilian human life was a mystery to Optimus Prime as he had not seen it that much, only being told about it occasionally by Bumblebee or one of the human soldiers on base. Peaches had rarely told anyone of what she had gone through before realizing what she was and then, she had only told Ashley, Sideways, Jolt, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker. "Very well Peaches, whenever you are ready."

The orange and red femme sighed and said "Here goes nothing."…

(Reality, so to speak)

Sideways had gotten up to take Abby to the bathroom as well as show Aaron where it was when the human boy said that he couldn't hold it all night. Now that they had both taken care of their business, he tried to get the two humans to settle down to sleep. The human toddler settled down soon enough; the six year old was a different story.

"Dad-I mean Sideways, I don't know if I can go back to sleep." Aaron admitted sadly.

"Nervous about tomorrow and explaining why you want to be part of this family?" the ex Decepticon asked.

"Yeah; it's hard to talk about and explain." Aaron sighed.

"I know you consider yourself too old for 'lullabies' but I still think that this song will help you feel better." Sideways put on some music; the song playing was "Lullaby for a stormy night". The ex 'con thought the song was beautiful…if only more people wrote songs like that.

Aaron climbed onto the cot that had been set up for him and soon fell asleep by the time the song was over. Sideways climbed onto the berth and snuggled next to Peaches; he wasn't going to let anything else horrible happen to her or anybody else who didn't deserve it.

(Back In Peaches' and Optimus Prime's shared bond dream)

Optimus found himself walking into what humans called a "middle school", seeing it from Peaches' POV. At that point in her life, she had shorter hair and did not tie it back as she had been doing when he first met her. He knew he couldn't change this memory but still, he couldn't help but feel that it started off horribly.

A girl who had red hair was being pushed around by a blonde girl who then walked off. Optimus felt a wave of reassurance from Peaches wash over him as he experienced the next part of the memory.

"I can't believe it! Amber is such a bitch!"

The Autobot leader would have to scold the Pretender later as he listened to the redheaded girl saying "I don't get it either. I haven't done anything to her. My name's Betty."

"I'm Peaches."

Optimus was pulled out of the memory back to the beach as the orange and red femme explained the rest of it.

"I sat with Betty at lunch that day and she and I became close friends. Then I did something stupid after school." Peaches admitted, feeling ashamed of what she had done.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I got into a fight with Amber. My mom was about as angry as you were with Charlotte Mearing when she found out what I had done and my dad gave me a 2 hour lecture." She replied. "I hated it but I do realize now that I didn't have a good reason for it and after 2 years, Amber gave up on bothering us just in time to move away. She apologized before she left but I never forgave her since by that time, I had read stories about kids who committed suicide after dealing with bullying from almost everyone in their class and I couldn't imagine what Betty would have done to herself if I hadn't befriended her."

Peaches had sounded sad near the end of this and sighed. She didn't think about this particular memory as much as she used to.

"I can see why most humans dislike middle school and high school after seeing that however, it is hard for me to believe that you used profanity when I usually do not hear those terms from you." Optimus Prime couldn't help but laugh a little bit before turning serious. "The little things we do always make a difference in our lives; saving Aaron and letting him stay with you is no exception to that and neither is standing by a fellow student who needed a friend more than anything else."

"yeah I know; I'm thinking more about what's best for him and the rest of my family now rather than what just happened; Don't get me wrong; I'm still upset it's just getting easier to deal with but when I was resting earlier, I started missing Jolt all over again and imagined seeing him and talking with him. I'd do anything for anohter day with him." The Pretender had tears on her face. "I should have been there to stop Shockwave but I couldn't and while he got what was coming to him it still doesn't give me closure."

"We can never truly forget those types of events but it is true what humans say about time healing all wounds." Optimus Prime hugged her. "You will learn that soon enough."

For the rest of the night, Peaches said nothing as Optimus gave her comfort that only a parental figure could give before they both returned to reality upon waking up, and remembering what needed to be done today.

(Sideways' personal log)

Peach seems to have recharged better tonight than she was before; I'm proud of her for being so strong even if she doesn't feel like she is. She knows she needs to be for me, Aaron, Abby and Crystal. Speaking of which, the last of the kids has not figured out how to transform back into her robot mode yet but she should by the time she reaches the age of 4 in human years according to Ratchet's best guess.

Speaking of the medic, he gave Aaron a checkup this morning. I went in with the human boy who would possibly soon be the oldest child of my family while Peaches played with the girls and told them all about the hatchlings.

"Hello Sideways and you as well Aaron." Ratchet said to us. "I trust you both are well rested?"

"Yes." The blonde haired boy replied nervously.

"Aaron, Ratchet is a doctor. He's not going to hurt you although he does easily get annoyed with certain other parties pulling pranks and making mischief." I explained, referring of course to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who had remained in Chicago to continue helping with the clean up work.

"And it is a good thing that those 2 are not present right now." Ratchet gave me a small glare for reminding him but quickly turned back to Aaron and lifted him up onto the berth. The Autobot medic then scanned the small boy, who was a bit unnerved at the sensation but not in pain.

"Don't worry; you're healing like you are supposed and you will have those stitches removed whenever its deemed fit for you to have that done." Ratchet gave the human kid that my sparkmate and I had grown fond of a small Oreo cookie for behaving and set him down on the floor. "And Peaches better not give you only fast food today."

"And what's wrong with getting him a Happy Meal as long as I make him get apple slices and milk with his burger or chicken nuggets?" Peaches asked as she walked by.

I led Aaron out and couldn't help but laugh as the medic kept calm enough to say "Then you have to get yourself healthy foods as well if you're making him get some. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Peaches replied over her shoulder. Aaron and I caught up to her and the girls. Crystal was excitedly saying "Play place!"

"McDonald's!" Abby shouted.

"How about later after we see if Aaron can stay with us? If he can, we'll go there to celebrate." I said.

"Yay!" they both screamed.

Aaron's face lit up at the idea. I couldn't help but smile myself at it. As I saw it, things were getting better and would keep getting better as the day went on.

Author's note: Not the best but the writer's block is going away more or less. Hope you enjoyed it.


	7. Chapter 7

Moving on chapter 7

(Sideways' personal log)

It was hard to believe that Peaches and I would soon be parents of 3, no matter that 2 were adopted.

Yes, Aaron was finally ours. It took at least 3 hours of speaking to Congress, the social services, the President, the other leaders of the United Nations, and of course Optimus Prime while standing in our robot forms outside and trying to keep Abby and Crystal from wandering off to do it but he was now part of our family. I can't even describe how happy the blond haired human was as he jumped for joy after finally getting outside away from everyone.

"Where will we live now?" he asked.

"Well, we are moving off base in 2 weeks and we're going to live in a building that used to be a factory but it's being renovated and changed into a living space for all of us." I answered as I transformed back into my vehicle mode.

"Don't worry; we think you'll love it." Peaches added as she transformed into her human mode and climbed into the passenger's seat while Aaron helped Abby and Crystal into their car seats; the latter was still in human form but she didn't seem to mind sitting in a car seat as much as her slightly older sister did.

True to our word, we took the kids to McDonald's and got sliced apples and milk with their Happy Meals instead of fries and soda. Peaches had a Big Mac, salad, and lemonade. I sat my holoform down into a seat beside my sparkmate, feeling slightly left out but knowing that I'd have plenty of energon later on at the base. Overall though, we were happy despite everything that had happened the previous week. Whether Sentinel would get jealous if he saw this or not, I couldn't say and I certainly couldn't guess what he was doing in the afterlife. That didn't matter either; the only thing that mattered was seeing my girl smile for the first time in a long time and our 3 children, happy to have each other as siblings.

(POV switch)

Innocence was probably one of the first things that Peaches had ever lost. She knew Aaron had lost his long before he had to and it was no easy task advising him on how to deal with it if he ever asked. For right now though, Aaron was excitedly walking with her, Abby and Crystal to the nearest Metro station for his first ride on a public transportation system. They would meet Sideways at the Washington Mall and then drive back to NEST base.

Peaches had never taken any of this for granted; she had lost too many loved ones already to forget the lessons she had learned. The Pretender was slowly but surely feeling better after everything she had been through and was slightly surprised when she had an unexpected blast from the past as she took her 3 kids down the escalator into the station. She saw someone who looked familiar, someone who could easily win a Megan Fox look-a-like contest if one was held.

Peaches and the kids got to the bottom of the escalator and Abby began running towards the person, recognizing her. "'Kaela here!" the human toddler shouted.

Mikaela turned around. "Hey Peach, haven't seen you in a while."

"Mikaela, I knew that was you!" the Pretender replied. "So, you and your dad, how have you been?"

"He's on his feet again." The human girl replied. She then noticed Aaron holding Crystal's hand. "Who's he?"

"This is Aaron; Sideways and I adopted him after what happened in Chicago." Peaches cringed as she had to repress the memory again. "Aaron, this is Mikaela, one of my friends."

Mikaela gave Abby back to Peaches and said "Nice to meet you."

Aaron didn't reply. He just let Crystal hug the older human.

That was when Peaches finally asked "What are you doing here in D.C.?"

"My dad and I were visiting since we finally saved up enough to make the trip; he's at one of the museums waiting for me to meet up with him." The other girl replied. She then asked something that Peaches wasn't prepared for. "How's Sam been?"

Peaches lied and said "Sam's fine."

It was a convincing lie though because Mikaela didn't question the Pretender's words as the latter purchased a fare card for Aaron. Peaches had a SmartTrip card, so she was already set.

Mikaela gave her new cell phone number to Peaches; it was written on a slip of paper, which the Pretender stuffed into her pocket. "Just so you know I want to keep into contact with you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Peaches replied. "Call or email me if you need anything."

The two parted ways and got onto separate trains. A few moments later, Peaches was sitting on one of the orange seats in a middle car and had Abby and Crystal on her lap while Aaron sat beside her. 2 people who had seen her ride many times knew her by name and greeted her.

"Hey Peach." One college age guy said to her.

"Hey Justin." She replied.

How she had met him was in well, not an unusual way but was still a bad way to have met her new human friend; several months before, Peaches had taken Abby and Crystal on the Metrorail system to go trick or treating for Halloween in another neighborhood with Ashley accompanying her to help watch the 2 girls. While Peaches was waiting for the train, she had seen the blond haired boy standing close to the tracks. He had jumped off; she pulled him up before another train arrived. Justin was dragged back, screaming about how badly he had wanted to die. The Pretender would have none of it though and was restraining the boy and trying to talk him out of it while Ashley had called 911.

Though it had taken several weeks, Justin had been in therapy and would be visited by Peaches when she could get time off. Of course, Sideways knew that she wasn't cheating on him or anything once she explained it all and he had visited the boy while in his holoform. The ex-Decepticon remarked that "he was a nice kid and extremely fortunate that you were there for him to talk to".

Abby and Crystal had been disappointed about not getting any candy but Peaches bought leftover treats at a discounted price the next day for them but only one bag to avoid Ratchet criticizing her. They had not understood what had gone on completely but they thought their mommy was a hero.

Today Justin and the other person that Peaches had encountered several times while riding seemed to be in good spirits, which the Pretender was thankful for.

A little redheaded girl who was around 9 years old asked her "Are you really an Autobot Ms. Peaches?"

"Jill, that's not a polite question." Her mother scolded her.

"I'm not allowed to tell you." Peaches replied anyway, smiling while doing so. "I can tell you that the ones I do know are good friends of mine."

That seemed to satisfy Jill. Her mother whispered "Someday she'll find out."

The Pretender replied "I know Angela; it's not like they're a secret anymore." She then remembered saving Angela's life. Unlike with Justin, the human woman had been saved during another Autobot-Decepticon battle.

(Roughly 2 months before the Chicago battle)

Canada was so much like America though it had a few obvious differences. Unfortunately, downtown Ontario being the site of a battle was not one of them. Peaches shot at one of the 'cons and then saw something horrifying; a redhead female human was about to be crushed by one of the collapsing buildings.

The orange and red femme dove in to protect the woman from the falling debris, not leaving until it had stopped. Peaches then got up and let the human medics examine her; fortunately, she was only shocked and wanting to thank her savior. "My gosh, I can't express in words how thankful I am Ms.-"

"It's just Peaches." The female Autobot replied. She then transformed into her human form and excused herself to go help some of the human members of NEST assess the damage to the area and make sure that no one else was under the rubble.

It had been a week or 2 afterwards when Peaches had returned to D.C. and had taken Abby and Crystal to a playground; the latter was in her human form and she and her sister were digging in the sandbox when someone had walked up to the bench she was sitting on. The other person sat down and said "Aw! Those 2 are very cute little girls! Are they both yours?"

"Yes, even though 1 of them was adopted." Peaches replied looking over to see the familiar face; the person she had saved mere weeks before. The latter introduced herself as Angela and asked the Pretender how was it that an Autobot could have a human form?

"That's classified." The femme admitted. "I can say that it does help with getting more than one perspective on certain situations and I can also enjoy a lot of things I would not experience otherwise; my kids, my wonderful husband who's the 'stay at home dad' so to speak, and quite a few Autobot and human friends who have been like my family for a long time."

As the 2 continued talking, they gave each other email addresses to keep in touch with each other; Angela's own daughter, Jill had eventually shown herself when she had to keep Abby from throwing sand at other kids. The little girl had been introduced to the Pretender, who she thought was a regular human person.

"I actually live down here now; any chance I'll see you again?" Angela asked.

"I think only time will tell." Peaches admitted.

The 2 had encountered each other when riding the Metro numerous times after that, finding time for quick conversation before one had to get off at her stop just as was happening today…

(End Flashback)

Angela was a bit surprised that Peaches had adopted another human child but knew that if Autobots had hearts, her savior turned close friend definitely had a big one as the latter had so many things that a lot of humans seemed to lack; kindness, a sense of duty, and quite a bit of wisdom beyond her years thanks to experience and Optimus Prime rubbing off on her.

Soon, the Pretender's stop came and she bade the human woman goodbye and got off, all 3 children in tow to meet up with Sideways. It saddened her that she would no longer be able to see the 2 humans who had only known her but a short time as often once she moved to her new home but moving would give her a chance to meet others, whether she wound up saving lives or doing another thing to make a difference. She knew everyone was flawed, Optimus had already proven that he wasn't any more perfect than any human or Autobot was, but still, she wanted to keep her surviving friends and family as close as she could, not being able to bear losing someone else…

Author's note: This was mostly filler because I'm not sure exactly how I'll write out what happens in the coming chapters. Also the 2 other OCs in this chapter were one shot characters; they're probably not going to appear again but if you want me to write separate fics for how Peaches saved their lives, please let me know when you review!


	8. Chapter 8

Moving on chapter 8

When Peaches and her family finally got back to base that day, Aaron went into the rec room to watch cartoons, after getting permission to do so while Abby and Crystal fell asleep and Sideways put them down in their beds. He then stepped out into the hallway and stood with Peaches. "They are the cutest things." He said.

The orange and red femme didn't reply; she simply went to the main room of the base where Optimus had just finished a video press conference with several humans and stood outside the door. She then simply walked back outside and stared at the sunset; sure, it was harder to see from where she was but it was still sunset more or less. The end of a day and to Peaches, the end of the good things she could list about Sentinel….

(Week before, 2 days before the Chicago battle)

Peaches had walked away but not too far so that Optimus and Sentinel could talk alone. She turned on her iPod and began listening to a song that she would sing to herself if she wasn't so damn nervous and thought of as "unusual" for it. It was "Colors of the Wind" from the Disney movie about Pocahontas. While the movie was not on her list of top 5 Disney movies, the song was actually good.

When she turned off the music and powered off the small device, she said "Never in a million years will I ever take a scene like this for granted yet sunrise and sunset happen so often it's tempting not to think about it; same thing with everything else that always happens on Earth and the people we love."

She had not been talking to anyone in particular but Sentinel had heard her talking about it all. "You do realize-"

"That Abby is going to pass away sooner than the rest of my family." She finished for him. "It still doesn't change the fact that she's my kid, maybe not biologically though that doesn't matter. I've lost too many people already to take everyone and everything I've ever had for granted and I hope you can understand someday why I don't 'stick to the status quo' and yet can still be an Autobot with so many human and Cybertronian friends who care about me."

(Back to present time)

Peaches looked at the letter again, sighing sadly. How hard must it have been to attempt to explain everything when writing that down and without Megatron catching Sentinel. It was hard to picture being in his place and being able to do that. _Still not ready to forgive him yet _a voice in her head said menacingly.

No, someday she would, just not at this point. Peaches transformed into her human mode and then began listening to her iPod.

**What I've done, I'll face myself to cross out what I've become**

She switched the song to a different one, not sure of why it had to be playing that song of all of them first. The next song Peaches was listening to was "The Reason". The femme turned off her iPod and sighed sadly.

"Now why would you be sitting out here all alone for an hour?" someone asked.

Peaches turned around and saw Sideways, Aaron, Abby and Crystal walking towards her. She transformed into her robot mode and finally said "You're right; we're family, we can't leave each other to deal with things on our own."

They all sat down, watching the stars come out. Abby and Crystal were pointing at the moon and the latter said "I going there!"

"I don't think so sweetspark." Peaches laughed. "You'd get lonely without the rest of us."

Soon enough, the 2 little girls were asleep and Aaron asked "Peaches, may I call you 'Mom' and Sideways 'Dad'?"

"Of course you may if you want to." Sideways replied as he ran his fingers through the human boy's hair and patted him on the head. "Now come on, we all need to get some sleep since today was a big day. Tomorrow, we'll stay on base and relax and then the day after is Crystal's creation day, or birthday as you'd call it."

"When's your birthday?" the human boy asked.

"I don't really know." The ex-Decepticon answered. It was the best answer he could give as Cybertronian dates and measurements of time were hard to convert to the equivalent human said dates and times. "Now come on, let's go in."

"But Dad"-Aaron yawned-"I'm not sleepy yet."

"I think you most certainly are." Optimus Prime had gone outside to see what was going on after having gone on patrol and helping Ratchet with feeding the hatchlings. "Mind both of them please. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Aaron replied as Sideways picked him up in one hand and held Abby in the other one.

Peach was carrying Crystal and went in after her sparkmate, the Autobot leader not far behind and smiling. She let Sideways go way ahead of her with the 2 human kids and stopped as she got into the hallway. She didn't want to say that she was nervous about anything; there was still time to pack up before moving after all but Optimus somehow knew that she needed to talk.

"Peaches, what's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing much; just glad that I can focus on my family a bit more but my dinner with the President is in 3 days and I have to take all of them with me and I don't have a nice dress to wear in my human form!" She admitted only part of it.

"I think it's something else besides worrying about being 'fashionable'." Optimus said.

"I don't want to talk about it right now though." Peaches sighed and started wondering whether she could handle it if her family was attacked by any 'cons that might still be alive.

The Autobot leader nodded his understanding and bid her good night. The Pretender then walked toward her family's quarters and put Crystal into her crib. She could see that Abby had already been put down and that Sideways was telling Aaron a bed time story. Snowball was lying on the floor but got up as soon as she saw her owner and ran over to the orange and red Autobot to lick her.

Peaches lightly patted the dog's head and said "I'm glad to have you back too."

"Hey Peaches, I need to talk to you!" Ashley was standing by the doorway. "Do you have a few minutes?"

The Pretender looked over to her family. "Just a second, I'll be there."

"Go ahead; we'll be okay." Sideways said to her as he tucked Aaron into bed and made sure that the nightlight was plugged in for Abby and Crystal.

"Good night Mom." Aaron said, yawning again and then finally falling asleep.

"Good night." Peaches walked out of the room and followed Ashley down the hallway.

The human woman then told her friend what she wanted to tell her. "If you need a dress, I can help you find one for a reasonable price."

"Thanks. I'd love that. I'm normally a t-shirt and jeans person as you already know." Peaches started laughing.

"So, see if we can go out tomorrow when I'm done with my shift?" Ashley asked.

"Sure." The Pretender smiled. She bade her friend good night and then went back to her quarters.

Peaches had slept better tonight mainly because of another shared dream with Optimus, but was unaware that someone else was looking for a bit of revenge…

The Decepticon had yet to be discovered by any Autobots that were searching for him. He had been alive this whole time, just not showing himself. He thought of her, the one who had escaped his powers that he had over other Autobots except for Optimus Prime. She had just gotten lucky, having a family like that..wait that was it!

Mindwipe said "Pretender, you will face reality soon…"

Author's note: Yeah, I ended this with a cliffhanger since I'm getting more of an idea of where to go with this story. Thanks to my wonderful Internet friend and beta reader Cairistona for proofreading the last chapter and for reviewing.


	9. Chapter 9

Moving on chapter 9

He had done what he could to explain what had happened. Sure, a letter wasn't the best way but it had been the first thing he had thought of doing. While Sideways was listening to music and singing along somewhat badly, Sentinel had taken out a data pad and a big pencil (don't ask where he got it). He then began writing out everything that he would say to Peaches if she were there.

The Prime had to admit that she had a lot of nuts and bolts for a femme, immediately going against him whereas the other Autobots had been too shocked by Ironhide's death to do so. Sure, she had lost the fight and had no strategy as she was running on pure emotion but he was still impressed. He continued writing, while getting a horrible processor ache and a lot of guilt eating at his spark. When he finished it, and added a 2nd message just for Optimus, he hid it in a random human location, under rubble that had resulted from the Decepticons first taking the city.

Now, Sentinel could only watch as Peaches recharged with her family. Being a Prime himself, he had sensed her bond with Optimus and that the former protégé of his was showing her some memories but he himself could not see them. What surprised him was that she seemed to be slowly letting go of her hatred of him and trying not to think "I'd do anything to have my teammates back" thoughts. He only wished that only good would come to her not for his sake but for the sake of her and everybody else; they did not deserve what he had done to them and shouldn't have to go through anything worse, if there was anything worse than what had happened in Chicago.

"I can't call you anything other than an idiot as your plan really wasn't going to work when you look at it from a scientific standpoint" Jolt sighed sadly, now that he had finally heard from Wheeljack what exactly had happened.. He hadn't expected for Sentinel to have passed on here to the Well of All Sparks only recently. "There's nothing any of us can do now to make it right but it's not too late for her to move on when she is ready. Knowing Peaches, I can say that she's been through so much and yet is still the strongest Cybertronian that I've seen; she will be okay."

Sentinel didn't reply; he just walked off, alone with his thoughts…

(Peaches' bond dream with Optimus)

She had been shown what it had been like when Optimus and Megatron were sparklings. Peaches couldn't help but remark when they returned to the beach "It's hard to believe that someone that cute grew up to be one of the most feared mechs of all time."

"Just remember, it is our choices that determine who we are; you do not have to choose to be a certain way just because you grew up in a certain situation." Optimus Prime said to her.

Peaches gave him a hug. "Thanks for showing that to me; you playing with him reminds me of Abby and Crystal when they play together. It's weird but in a good way."

The Autobot leader had a sad smile on his face but sent a wave of comfort the Pretender's way. Now they would have to leave and go back to reality…

(End dream sequence)

Peach had awakened and was ready to spend time with her family today, and then go shopping with Ashley that night. Hopefully, she'd find a good dress that she liked and would not be ashamed to wear as a human.

"Peaches, I need to show you something." Someone said.

Peaches turned around and saw Mirage standing outside of her door. "What is it?" she asked.

The red Autobot led her to the basement, where Wheeljack's lab full of inventions had been left behind. Since no one had been on base until 2 days ago, it had remained untouched. The Pretender didn't like that she was feeling horrible all over again but then saw Mirage picking up something that looked like a Transformer-sized iPod.

"Wheeljack wanted to give this to you as an early birthday present; he finished it about 2 days before the mission to Chernobyl." He said, handing it and a note to the orange and red femme.

Peaches read the note and got tears in her eyes

_Hey Peach,_

_I don't think I'll be able to give this to you personally but I hope you enjoy it. I've been working on it since Christmas and it's finally finished. I've found a lot of your favorite songs and put them on there. Don't break it or lose it; it's the only Cybertronian sized iPod in existence.-_

_Wheeljack_

"I can't believe he was working on a birthday present 2 months early…oh, I've got to get something for Crystal when I go out tonight with Ashley!' Peaches remembered. "That random reminder aside, thanks for giving this to me; I think he would have wanted you to do that."

She then parted ways with the sometimes speaking in Italian Autobot and put the big iPod in subspace. She poured cereal into bowls for Abby and Aaron and gave Crystal a small cube of energon and got 2 others for herself and Sideways.

"So how is my beautiful femme this morning?" Sideways asked after he had taken a sip of energon and put the cube back down.

"Fine thanks for asking." She replied.

The day went relatively well until the middle of the afternoon when Prowl came in and told Peaches something she did not want to here.

"Optimus wasn't actually successful with killing Barricade; the latter is in the brig mainly as a precautionary measure." He said.

Peaches stood there in shock. "Does he want any visitors?" she finally managed to ask.

Prowl said yes and then took the Pretender down to the basement where the Cybertronian brig was. While watching them walk away, Crystal asked 'Uncle Oreo bad boy?"

"Yes, he was being bad." Sideways knew that what had happened was not Barricade's fault; he had been controlled by Soundwave to seemingly ensure that the former interrogation officer was really coming back to their side. This had been explained over a comlink to him shortly before Optimus had shot the black and white Cybertronian.

The small sparkling of course was too young to understand it; she was safe in her own world instead of the harsh reality that her parents had to deal with…

Barricade was slightly surprised that Peaches did actually come and visit him. Although she wasn't showing any emotion, he could tell that she had mixed feelings after finding out the truth.

"You are very lucky that I did not have to see Wheeljack's execution and then go berserk on you like I did when Sentinel killed Ironhide." The Pretender said angrily. "Do you realize how hard it is to stand there and watch somebody close to you have their life ended and you can't do anything about it?"

The ex-Decepticon did not reply; he just sat in silence and let the femme vent and explain what she was tempted to do to him if Optimus had allowed it.

"The only reason I am not going to do any of those things is because it wouldn't give me any satisfaction and I don't want my kids to want to resort to the same thing." She finished as she calmed down. "I never thought I'd say this but here I go with it anyways"

Peaches said 3 words that Barricade had not expected to hear.

"I forgive you."

He was very shocked upon hearing that and even more so when Prowl let him out. The Pretender wrapped up the ex-Decepticon in a hug, tears streaming down her face but these were tears of relief rather than sadness.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that to anyone other than Sideways." Barricade admitted. "Thank you Peaches."

"Well, I needed to get at least one thing off of my chest if I'm going to be able to continue with living life." She replied. "I know it wasn't intentional on your part and even if it was, I would still forgive you."

Soon, Optimus Prime had come down to see what the commotion was. When Prowl had explained it, the Autobot leader said "She is the stronger person for having done that. I can only hope that she will be able to handle the stress of packing up and moving to her new home in 12 days."

Peaches finally let go of Barricade and said "Optimus, moving will be a piece of cake compared to doing that. If you will both excuse me please." She went back upstairs to make sure that she had enough money to buy Crystal a birthday present.

Barricade turned to Optimus. "Prime, I don't understand how she was able to do that."

"Peaches has been taught her whole life by her human parents about forgiveness; it does not mean that whatever was done to her was made okay, it simply means that she does not wish to attempt to harm you in an act of revenge." The Autobot leader explained. "Perhaps someday you will learn this as well."

The ex-'Con was silent as he went back into his cell and Prowl locked the brig again. Optimus Prime left to help Ratchet tend to the hatchlings, trying to think of why he hadn't been as forgiving as the Pretender had been…

(Optimus Prime's personal log)

Perhaps Peaches could teach me a thing or two after I have witnessed what she was able to do today: forgiving one of our former enemies. Tonight she went out with Ashley to buy a birthday present for Crystal and formal clothing for herself, Aaron, Abby and the orange and blue sparkling to wear to the dinner that she has to go to. Sam and Carly will also be there as will I in order to help with getting back on good terms with Earth's people. I have the hope that we will be successful with that.

When she got back, Peaches walked outside; I followed her and listened as she began to sing the same song that she had first sung when we were taking Sentinel Prime on a tour of Earth.

**When you were standing in the wake of devastation**

**When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown**

**With the cataclysm raining down, insides crying save me now**

**You were there and possibly alone**

**Do you feel cold and lost in desperation? You build up hope but failure's all you've known**

**Remember all the sadness and frustration and let it go, let it go**

The only Autobot Pretender on my team had tears rolling down her face as she had finished singing the chorus; I couldn't help but smile sadly again. If she could slowly let go of everything that had caused her pain, could I not do the same thing?

"Optimus" Peaches sighed. "What are you doing out here?"

"I did not mean to interrupt you, my friend." I told her.

"I'm going to pretend you're not there while singing the rest of this." She said as she continued the song.

**And in the burst of light that blinded every angel**

**As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars**

**You felt the gravity of temper grace, falling into empty space**

**No one there to catch you in their arms**

**Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?**

**You build up hope but failure's all you've known**

**Remember all the sadness and frustration**

**And let it go, let it go**

Peaches sang the chorus one more time and then I told her "That is indeed a very beautiful song about moving on from past events."

"I think the reason why Sentinel mentioned it in his letter to me was because he knew that it would help me and possibly someone else in the aftermath of what happened." She explained. "That doesn't mean I'm going to say anything else good about him since I didn't know him that well."

I understood that and gave her a hug. "Remember, tomorrow is a joyful occasion and I wish for you to be able to wish Crystal a 'happy birthday'."

"I'll be able to Optimus; that's what every one of them would want." Peaches transformed into her human form and I grabbed her before she could hit the ground. She then fell asleep in my arms.

I did not understand why she suddenly felt the need to regress to a childlike state of mind but carried her inside to her room, as though she was a sparkling being put down for a nap.

"Prime, thanks for looking out for her." Sideways told me as I put his sparkmate down on a human sized bed and then put a blanket over her and moved her hair out of her face.

"You are very welcome; I am never one to break promises." I replied.

I left the room and returned to my own quarters. Elita had left a message saying that the clean-up in Chicago was going well. I am now in a more peaceful state of mind and ready to recharge but I cannot help but wonder why I have had a bad feeling about the "moving day" for Peaches and her family…

Author's note: Next chapter is Crystal's b-day and then Peaches' little family moving off of base, more or less. I will get to that chapter when I can.


	10. Chapter 10

Moving on chapter 10

The very next day, everyone who was at the base was in a good mood. Today was Crystal's birthday and in 11 days, Peaches, Sideways and their 3 children would be moving into a place of their own. Peaches would still work for NEST of course and would get a certain amount of money each month to provide for the needs of Abby and Aaron.

The Pretender wasn't thinking about the move though; she was now giving Crystal the toy she had gotten her which was a stuffed animal of Minnie Mouse.

"Thank you Mommy!" Crystal cuddled the stuffed toy as she said this.

"You're welcome sweetie." Peaches replied smiling.

"Hey Peach, Optimus wants us." Sideways came up to his sparkmate as he said this. "He wants to give Crystal a blessing."

"I'd be honored to have him do so." She replied, calling for Crystal to follow her. Abby and Aaron followed her as did Sideways into the main room where several 'bots and humans were gathered around, as well as Barricade, who had been released from the brig temporarily.

"Peaches and Sideways come forward with Crystal." The Autobot leader told them.

The 2 sparkmates did so. Optimus then took Crystal into his hands and held her. He then began making a speech, which caused Peaches to smile.

"Everyone who is part of the next generation is important no matter what. Peaches and Sideways, you know this all very well." Optimus Prime smiled as he said this. "I was honored to have been one of the first to hold your sparkling and am honored to do so again on this the anniversary of her creation. As she has been here nearly a year, I ask both of you: will you promise to continue meeting her needs but not to spoil her, to teach her right from wrong, to show her that freedom is everybody's right and more importantly continue treating her and her siblings equally?"

"We promise to do what you have asked." Both the ex-Decepticon and the Pretender answered.

Optimus began saying a prayer to Primus as his chest opened and the Matrix of Leadership briefly shown a light on Crystal who said "Pretty!"

"Primus, please continue to bless my soldier and adopted daughter Peaches and her family and continue to help them through both the good and the bad. I also ask that Crystal may have a long and healthy life and that she will always know what choice to make no matter the situation." The Autobot leader was saying. His chest closed, the Matrix no longer shining light on the sparkling. The small orange and blue femme then said "Shoulders Prime please?"

Peaches knew very well what that meant; Crystal wanted a ride on her leader's shoulders, which he hadn't given her for a long time. Optimus knew this as well and lifted the small femme up and placed her there. He then said "Let us all continue to celebrate this joyful occasion."

Everybody cheered and the party finally started. Of course, Abby wanted to be picked up too and said "Up Uncle Oreo!"

Barricade sighed. He then picked up the small human girl in one hand and sat down on the Cybertronian sized sofa with her. He was trying not to think about the semi-awkward and yet at the same time relief that he had experienced yesterday when Peaches had forgiven him. What drove her to do that?

Abby then grabbed a finger of the now ex-Decepticon interrogation officer and said "Love you 'Cade!"

The girl had unknowingly answered his question; Peaches had once mentioned to him and Sideways that her parents had been what humans called "Christians" and believed in a variation of treating one's enemies kindly: "loving your neighbor as yourself". It wasn't the same as the more common romantic love she had with her sparkmate or the love they both had for the younglings in their care but it was thought to still be important. The Autobot Pretender herself had never actually been baptized and had been told by her adoptive human father that she could choose for herself whether she wanted to believe in the God that a lot of humans believed in or not. She had chosen not to but how she had been acting yesterday still had some religious influence from what had been taught to her in her life as one of those flesh creatures.

"Daddy!" Abby shouted as Sideways walked over to where they were.

"Hello there little one." Sideways took her from his former teammate and then sat down next to him.

"I hate to admit this but she is the cutest thing I've ever seen for a flesh creature." Barricade said.

"Yes she is and she seems to be okay with her sister having a birthday today instead of her." the blue colored mech replied.

"Next year!" the human toddler said.

"That's right; your birthday comes again next year." Sideways smiled, glad to have at least one day when everyone of his friends and family were happy.

Meanwhile, Optimus had sat down in another chair and had moved Crystal into his arms. She beeped happily and snuggled against his chest. She had already had energon cake and a small bit of oil to drink. The Autobot leader then looked down to see Aaron slowly approaching him.

"Hello Aaron, did you need something?" he asked.

The human boy answered "I just want to know how did Peaches decide to be an Autobot?"

Optimus Prime smiled as he began thinking of that. "I would rather not tell that story without your adoptive mother's approval."

"Go ahead Optimus; he can hear it." Peaches replied as she walked over to the sofa and sat next to Sideways.

Optimus lifted the 6 year old human boy with his right hand without getting up or dropping Crystal and as soon as the latter was comfortable, began relating the day that the Pretender had made the decision to fight for the side of good and what had happened afterwards.

(2 years before)

Peaches had made her decision the night before. Still, it was hard to believe she had done so. Now her adoptive human parents had said goodbye and left Diego Garcia via plane hours ago and she was sitting on the beach, in her human form as that was what she was used to being in. She looked up towards the stars, wondering what direction Cybertron would be in. "What would it have been like if I was actually raised there?" the Pretender asked.

"Don't mourn the past Peaches; you can only change the future." someone said.

When she turned around, Peaches saw Optimus Prime. "I know Optimus." she replied, watching him walk over to her. "Still, I feel so out of place since I'm not like the rest of the Autobots here."

The Autobot leader lifted the Pretender with one hand and then sat down on the sand. He then put her close to his spark, as she seemed to be a little bit cold although the weather outside was just fine. "You do not need to feel like that little one; having the ability to turn into a native of this world and having been raised differently than the rest of us will be an advantage someday."

"Yeah; I can get on Galloway's level literally and try to keep myself from physically slapping his face when he insults us." Peaches joked, trying not to laugh.

Optimus Prime laughed as well despite everything. He then told her "Peaches, I believe you have made the right decision in joining us but if you change yoru mind later on, I will allow you to do so. Remember this though; the choices you make today shape your world tomorrow."

The Pretender yawned then said "I've got a lot to learn don't I?"

"Indeed you do but all of the lessons that you must remember will come to you when the time is right." Optimus said...

(End flashback)

That had proven true of course; Peaches had learned a lot over the past 2 years and was now trying to keep a positive attitude despite everything. Of course he had thought the day would never come when she would express her readiness to live away from the base with her family and have Sideways assist her with whatever she needed. He was very lucky to have someone like her around just as Elita was fortunate to have him. Optimus smiled and looked down at Crystal, who had fallen into recharge. Aaron had also fallen asleep. He took them back to their parents' quarters and laid them down gently.

"You know Optimus, it's hard to believe that so much has changed since I came here. At first I was scared but now I know that there are some things that will never change." Peaches said as she walked in with Abby, who was also asleep and had cake all over her face. The Pretender wiped her off with a washcloth and laid her down.

Optimus Pirme did not know what to say but he did give Peaches a hug and sent the love that only a father figure could give over their bond. Things were going a little too well though...

The next night was the dinner at the White House; Abby and Crystal had been very well behaved during the dinner until getting fidgety; that was when one of the President's aides came in and decided to take them and their new older brother outside for a while. Peaches didn't mind this; she knew that they would love the idea of playing on the playset that had been set up outside for the 2 youngest members of the First Family.

A scream was heard; Peaches immediately ran out, Sideways' and Optimus' holoforms as well as Sam and Carly not too far behind her. They would be surprised at what or rather who they would find on the White House lawn near the 2 human kids and the one sparkling.

Author's note; Short on purpose because I didn't want to put all of what I wanted to type here in this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Moving on chapter 11

(Sideways' POV)

I was not sure how to react; there was Mindwipe, someone who had given Peaches trouble before and one of few Decepticons who was pretty close to Megatron when it came to inducing fear. The fact that he could hypnotize others was another thing one would have to worry about. He was speeding away in his own alternate mode, an F117 Nighthawk aircraft, with Peaches' and my kids inside several feet above us. I could still hear Abby, Aaron, and Crystal screaming for him to let them go.

I subsequently let Peaches get into my vehicle mode, as she was in human form, and we took off after him. I thought I had heard Optimus trying to get us to stop but I wasn't entirely sure. I was going over the speed limit but I did not care. I had to get the kids and keep them safe and my sparkmate had the same feeling.

"Sideways, you would do well to stop." Mindwipe's hypnosis was doing the trick and I was slowing down, according to what Sam had told me later.

"What do you want with our kids?" I asked angrily over my comlink, pulling to a halt and breaking his trance.

"Not much; just you and your Autobot sparkmate to come alone to get them with 100 energon cubes by midnight." He replied.

100 energon cubes would not fit in my vehicle mode and Optimus wouldn't be able to come with us and have them in his trailer. My ex-teammate knew this just as well as we did.

"You have got to be kidding me." Peaches muttered.

"You will let their family be." Optimus Prime shouted angrily.

"Oh, don't you think about getting involved Optimus; you can't protect Peaches forever." Mindwipe started laughing evilly at all of us. It was a little uncharacteristic of him but a very creepy laugh nonetheless.

I checked the time; we had 4 hours to get to wherever he was; he had already given me the coordinates. I saved them in my databanks and growled. He was going to get it once we got to him…

(Switch to Optimus Prime's POV)

I could hear Mindwipe telling Peaches to give into her anger and attempt to get Sideways to go after him, no matter how many humans got hurt but I was not going to let it happen. I knew that he was aware of my being immune to his hypnotism but what he did not know was that I could give someone else that immunity using the Matrix of Leadership and sending that energy over a bond if I did have it with them. Hence, Peaches and Sideways were both kept where they had stopped until Mindwipe was out of sight of us.

"Optimus, I can't stand this; we're not going to be able to do exactly what he says." Peaches said, still angry. "I cannot afford to lose anybody else in my family!"

"Peach, you can't do it by yourself" Sam started to say.

"You're not going to stop me Samuel James Witwicky!" she interrupted him, then got out of Sideways' vehicle mode and started walking in that direction. "I don't care if it takes me all night-"

"Peaches stop!" I ordered her.

She did so very reluctantly and came over to my vehicle mode.

"We will come up with an alternate way; he most likely will not keep his word after all." I said. "First though, do not to give in to your desire for revenge; it will only cause more harm than good."

"I haven't forgotten what you said about that when Jolt when offline" Peaches stopped talking and got into my vehicle mode.

I led everyone back to the base so that we could come up with a suitable plan and was also remembering my talk with Peaches after she had reacted terribly to that news.

(A couple of months before, just after Valentine's Day, switch to 3rd person POV)

The orange and red femme that had only discovered she was Cybertronian two years before had sworn in front of her sparkling upon hearing the news. Optimus led her to his office, leaving Mirage to watch her children. As soon as they had gotten inside said office, he had shut the door and Peaches transformed into her human mode and looked away.

Optimus Prime lifted her onto his desk and then went to sit behind it. "Peaches look at me." He ordered.

The Pretender reluctantly made eye contact with her leader. She then swore again, this time mostly quietly but was still heard.

"Watch your language while you are in my presence." Optimus sighed. He hated it when Peaches acted childishly as she was doing now but kept his cool as the humans would say.

"There's nothing you can do to help me." Peaches insisted sadly.

The Autobot leader picked her up in his right hand and said "I am aware that you desire to avenge Jolt however, I must ask you something; if everyone else close to you were to get hurt in the process, would it then make you happy?"

The femme realized what he had meant; if Sideways, Abby, Crystal, Ashley, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and others she considered part of her adopted family were harmed or worse yet killed, she could never forgive herself. "No, but I still don't understand." She replied.

"When one holds a grudge it is very draining, physically and emotionally; think of it as being a leaky bathtub drain that won't keep the water in long enough for you to get a hot bath." Optimus Prime explained. "It can also change a person for the worse; I am very sure that Abby and Crystal would not like seeing you like that and Sideways would only be reminded of what he used to be. You would be no better than the 'cons themselves if you let getting revenge get the best of you; it would not bring Jolt back and he would not want to see you changing for the worst for his sake."

Peaches thought about that for a second. "It's like a nuclear bomb; if you wanted to use it to destroy your enemies, you could but you would harm innocent people in the process." She made her own comparison, finally understanding but still upset. She began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Whatever Shockwave's end might be, whether or not in battle, we will let fate decide that. For now, I want you to know that Elita and I as well as many others are here to help you whenever you need it." Optimus said. He put Peaches close to his spark and gave her a hug.

(End flashback, switch back to 1st person POV Optimus)

Peaches had cried for 5 Earth hours that day and had cried again at Jolt's funeral. Elita and I had hugged her numerous times when she needed it. That was all we could do to help her; she often listened to music or sang to no one in particular to calm herself down if she wanted to be alone.

At this point though, she seemed to be struggling to keep her cool as I discussed with her, Sideways, Ratchet, Mirage, Prowl and the humans that had returned to base how to carry out my plan for the rescue.

"Peaches we will get them back." Sideways said in an attempt to comfort her as he gave her a hug and let her shed tears on his shoulder as he stood near the back wall of the hangar and attempted to keep himself as calm as possible. "I promise. I don't know how we're going to be able to meet his demands, but we will do so."

She looked up and said firmly "Those who harm children are the lowest criminals around, whether they are Cybertronians or humans committing the crime. I will not stand by and let him harm them! I am glad that I have friends, no family who are willing to help me do this!"

I could tell Peaches was filled with burning justice and soon she would be able to release that energy and do something with it. The plan was soon finalized.

"Autobots, roll out!" I ordered.

We then did so, keeping our optics open for any other Decepticons that might deter us from our mission...


	12. Chapter 12

Moving on chapter 12

There is nothing like a mother who will do anything to protect their children. The orange and red femme who was always meant to be an Autobot fits that description perfectly. I see Peaches as she goes with her sparkmate and her fellow Autobots to rescue the 3 children from Mindwipe. They arrive at the location, energon cubes stacked in their arms and Sideways and Peaches being the only ones in sight.

Soon they become surrounded by drones as they hand the cubes over to the Decepticon. Enraged, Peaches attacks several of them while Sideways gets the 2 human children and one sparkling to safety. The other Autobots soon come to assist her; the Pretender then turns her attention to Mindwipe and begins battle with him. He tries to hypnotize her into stopping but Optimus Prime my descendant has given her the immunity he has to those powers so she is unable to follow the Decepticon's "suggestion". After 20 minutes, both have seriously wounded each other, and are unable to get up.

"You can kill me now." Mindwipe tells her.

Peach refuses to do so, saying "No; it would be the easy way out and would not give me satisfaction. You don't deserve it."

Mindwipe then perishes and his spark fades out, his drones destroyed and his captives freed. His threat has ended but Peaches may not make it. She is taken by Ratchet back to the base, her family and teammates following and waiting to hear any news of her prognosis.

It is not Peaches' time yet; she was meant to survive and continue caring for young ones, human and Cybertronian alike thus I must ensure that she does-Vector Prime

(Switch to Peaches' POV)

She wasn't quite sure where she was but she saw several friends and a few enemies surrounding her.

"Peach, you did it." Jolt said to her. "You didn't lose yourself completely even though you were close to it"

"What do you mean?" Peaches asked.

"What we mean is that you didn't make the same mistake he did." An older mech was saying; the Pretender presumed this was Jetfire and she could see that he was referring to Sentinel Prime.

"You're really something soldier and a real Autobot." Ironhide added.

"Pretender: has obtained my respect" Soundwave said.

The orange and red femme looked at Sentinel Prime. "I just did something I could never have done if I hadn't learned a lot from Optimus as he once learned from you." She told him. "Even if you didn't turn out so great in the end, it was a good reminder that no one will ever be perfect and that there are a lot who have good intentions, just horrible ways of carrying them out. What I do not understand is why you didn't kill me after you got rid of Ironhide."

"You were not considered a threat." Sentinel Prime explained. "Unfortunately, you've proved me wrong tonight and were quite impressive."

Peaches smirked. "I may as well say this now that I have a chance to; I've forgiven you for being stupid and a jerk. Am I really dead or just not there yet though?"

"Peaches, you are not meant to be here yet." Wheeljack explained.

"What?"

It seemed that her friends and enemies had now disappeared and the Pretender was now seeing 12 of the ancient Primes, at least she guessed that was who they were.

"It was not supposed to be your time tonight." One of them said. "Your children and other young ones still need you to help them. Sideways needs you as well."

"I know." Peaches replied. "I need to teach them what I have learned."

"Though you aren't one of our own you are still important." A femme, presumably Solus Prime, was saying to the Pretender. "We are as proud of you as Optimus Prime is. Return to them."

They seemed to disappear. Peaches looked around again; she was in the medical bay and Optimus and Sideways were sitting next to the berth.

"My love you've returned!" Sideways nearly shouted in surprise at the realization of this and nearly fell out of his chair.

"I could have sworn I had declared you dead almost 2 seconds ago." Ratchet added, equally surprised at the resilience of his patient. "You're going to have to be here for a while though."

"I know." Peaches replied, and then began to become worried. "What about my kids?"

"They are all safe and had only minor injuries." Optimus Prime explained gently.

"Optimus, thanks for keeping me from acting like you had before." The Pretender said, not liking that she was mentioning those events again. "That disturbed me; I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think I had actually seen all of what had happened. I'm sorry."

The Autobot leader realized what she was referring to. "There is no need to be sorry Peaches; you and Sideways could not help that you both were there at the same time Sentinel and I were. Perhaps someday I will be able to forgive what our enemies did to us as you were able to."

"I really hope so." Peaches yawned.

"It's about time that you rested my dear." Ratchet told her. "You have a very long recovery ahead of you."

Sideways bid everyone good night and went to sleep with Aaron, Abby and Crystal while Optimus remained by Peaches' bedside, ready to share a bond dream with her…

She found herself seemingly alone on the beach again, yet she really wasn't. The femme heard him call out "My adopted daughter, come here. You will never be alone."

Peaches ran over to Optimus and told him "Is there a good memory of yours that you wouldn't mind sharing with me?"

"Indeed there is." The Autobot leader replied smiling.

(2 years before)

The memory Optimus had chosen was the first time he had driven Peaches anywhere. Specifically that had been when she had briefly had to do some training on American soil. When another truck passed by, the femme made a motion with her hand to get the other driver to honk his horn, which he did.

Optimus had been caught off guard. "May I ask what that was?"

"Something pointless that a lot of humans do for fun; I know I'm not really-" Peaches immediately stopped.

"There is no need to be ashamed of living among a different species." the Autobot leader told her. "I must admit that you would possibly make a good ninja since you surprised me like that."

"I don't want to be a ninja Optimus; Autobots are much cooler!" the then 17 year old Pretender insisted.

If he could have smiled in vehicle mode, Optimus Prime would have. She shouldn't have been involved in this war but had no choice; she was only slightly younger than Bumblebee in Cybertronian years, and wasn't going to be considered an adult by human standards for 4 more months. Then again, she was enjoying herself now and that was what was important.

(End memory)

Peaches was embarassed. "I can't believe you still remember me goofing around before I had to do that training with Chromia." she said as her cheeks turned a darker color.

"Indeed." Optimus Prime replied smiling. "One can not change the past; you must remember this."

"I know but what Mindwipe could have done is going to give me worse nightmares than what I've been having since the Chicago stuff." the Pretender admitted, suddenly feeling afraid. "I just feel like I can't handle them both; I know Sideways is trying his best to help me and the kids don't understand but still-"

The Autobot leader led Peaches to the so called "storm" that had appeared a short distance away. "I will not let you face these alone my daughter."

That surprised the orange and red femme; she had always thought of Optimus and Elita as another "Dad" and "Mom" and yet had never heard them say that they acknowledged that and didn't mind. "Thanks Dad." she said, letting him hug her.

(switch to Optimus Prime's personal log)

Peaches' nightmares involve many horrifying scenes that are difficult to describe though I feel I must do so. The one she had tonight involved her finding her young ones dead and snapping, therefore bringing out the Decepticon programming that she had as she had been created by them. I was not sure if this would happen; I will have to ask Ratchet tomorrow. For now, I sent her comfort over our bond and let her awaken to talk to me verbally, as she'd rather do that.

"Optimus-" she started to say.

"I have already told Elita; fortunately, Mirage volunteered to take her place cleaning up Chicago so that she will able to return to bae and visit you as well." I assured her.

"Thanks." Peaches replied.

She has tried to go back into recharge again but is moving around in her sleep and shaking. My chest opens and the Matirx of Leadership engulfs her with light, filling her with a peaceful feeling so that she may be able to rest without being given a sedative. I should also let myself get some rest as I know that she, her immediate family and everyone else who went with us on the rescue mission is safe right now and that is all that matters.

Author's note: I've only got 3 more chapters of this left. Wow.


	13. Chapter 13

Moving on chapter 13

True to her word, Elita One had visited Peaches the next afternoon. The 2 femmes talked about general girl things and what had gone on recently in each other's lives. Meanwhile, Aaron was playing with his sisters in the rec room, still shaken over the previous night's events but otherwise okay. Sideways was also playing with them, trying his best not to think of what could have happened if he, Peaches and so many others had not intervened.

"Daddy, up!" Crystal said.

"Okay." Sideways picked up Crystal just as Optimus walked in. The Autobot leader had just finished a press conference, explaining what had happened to Peaches and that she would be safe and still able to take care of her family. "Hello Optimus."

"Up Pwime, please!" Abby interrupted her father.

Optimus Prime picked up the human toddler and sat down on the sofa next to Sideways. "The press conference went well; I can only hope that humans do not think of you and Peaches as bad parents when that is far from the truth."

'I know." the ex-Decepticon replied, trying not to show that he was sad. "I can't stop thinking about 'what if' though. So many things could have happened to the kids and could happen since there's still more of Megatron's followers out there somewhere."

"I understand the feeling my friend but the only thing you can do now is focus on the present." Optimus told him.

Sideways nodded. It was going to be so hard for Peaches to recover but he believed that she would do so.

After Elita had left, Prowl had been the next one to visit the Pretender. He had a few get well cards, some of which were written by Peaches' human friends as well as one from the President. When he left, the femme looked at them and smiled. She was already beginning to feel a bit better not by much but not as horrible as in the immediate aftermath of what had happened.

"Peaches."

She looked up to see Ratchet standing there. "I'm okay right now Ratchet."

"Just checking. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask. Also, you will have to be in here for roughly 15 days, possibly more."

"So my family's going to have to move without me and I'll have to join them later." Peaches said sighing sadly.

"It's not your fault for what happened; we've already told you that." the medic reassured her. "As I said, do not hesitate to ask if you require assistance."

(One week later)

Peaches had gotten tons of fan mail from humans and was now able to move her hands and sit up in order to write responses. Most of them were from human children who were convinced that the Autobots were good, there were a few get well cards from her favorite celebrities, no thanks to Sideways publishing a list of them and convincing some to write to her, and some messages of well wishes from world leaders, including the Pope, the President of the U.S.A., and several prime ministers of various countries. The Pretender began smiling and put them all back in the box; she would have to reply to them later. Instead she got up and walked around the medbay, as she had started doing 3 days ago. She still wasn't allowed out though; that wouldn't be until tomorrow.

The orange femme no longer needed help getting to sleep and although she still had violent nightmares, they seemed to get less intense as time passed. She then saw somebody she did not expect out to walk in. It was Barricade.

"You didn't need to visit me just because-" Peaches started to say.

"I don't know if you had one of those 'near death experiences' as some fleshlings claim to have but to practically come back in 2 seconds is quite impressive." he said.

"Is that why you wanted to come in here? Telling me that." she asked.

"No, just part of it." Barricade groaned. If he hadn't had Sideways around, he would have gone crazy dealing with the Autobots. "the other reason is, Sideways insisted on it."

She wasn't sure why but Peaches started laughing a little bit at that. She then calmed down. "Okay then; I'm fine if you have to know just not out of here completely until Ratchet gives me a clean bill of health."

They made light conversation, having forgotten the awkwardness of the femme forgiving the former interrogation officer and him accepting it. Soon after, Barricade left and Sideways came into visit. By then, it was mid-afternoon.

"So, where are the kids?"

"Optimus has got Abby and Crystal; Ashley took Aaron to Six Flags for the day so that he could get out of the house." Sideways replied.

Peaches smiled. "That's great; anything else?"

The ex-'Con got nervous. After a few moment though, he said "Peaches, I know Ratchet won't want you doing anything considered strenuous for about 4-5 days after you get out of here but I did want to ask, when you will be able to do it, will you-" he stopped.

"Merge our sparks together and the other things we haven't been able to do because of raising kids,the war and so many other things?" she finished. "Yes butis it anything like sex between humans though?"

"Technically no; it's more of a 'spiritual' thing than a physical one but it is very similar in other ways." Sideways answered. "In other words, we're not going to create another sparkling that way."

The Pretender sighed with relief. "Okay, just wondering. I've never done anything like that before but I am looking forward to trying it." She then got back onto the berth as she was tired.

Sideways wrapped his arms around Peaches, being careful not to aggravate her healing injuries, and gave her a kiss. It lasted but a few moments but it was enough reassurance to the femme that even after a near death experience, her sparkmate had never wanted to leave her at all. Hence, most of hers were about him tonight and she blocked her end of her bond with Optimus in order to not have any interruptions while having these dreams...

Authors note: I know it's a bit short but I didn't want to make it too long.


	14. Chapter 14

Moving on chapter 14

It was the night after Sideways' visit that Peaches was dreaming again; this time, she had allowed Optimus to share this dream with her. The setting was a made-over abandoned warehouse, similar to where Peaches and Sideways would move with their kids and their dog. Outside other children were playing on a swing set, in a sandbox and in an inflatable kiddie pool with Crystal, Aaron, and Abby while the Pretender and the ex-Decepticon as well as several teenagers were watching them to make sure no one got hurt. Snowball, the only dog there, was running around the yard with several children chasing her then stopping and resting to let the children pet her head.. Soon the only ones left were of course the adopted children belonging to the unusual couple, their sparkling and a few other kids and teens who then subsequently went inside.

On the beach, Peaches said "That's basically what I've been imagining myself and Sideways doing; fostering children and teens that no one else seems to want and opening a home daycare for other kids. I think that letting teens that are old enough to volunteer to help out would be a good way to teach them responsibility for their actions and thinking of others."

"I do believe that you both will be able to do that if you give it a shot." Optimus Prime said smiling "I always had a feeling you were called to do something besides be a soldier when you adopted Abby with Sideways and began raising her as your own. There are many times that I've seen you upset over news stories which involve children coming to harm and the fact that you wish to keep them from it if at all possible warms my spark and causes a bit of wishful thinking on my part."

"I know; there are many people who can't have kids like my human parents who are suited to having them and then the 'parents' who have kids and either don't take care of them, abuse them, sometimes a mix of both. Then there are those who cand and do have kids and take care of them and I also wish more people would think of the next generation; they're our future and if we don't raise them right, how much worse will the problems on Earth get?" The Pretender replied sadly.

The Autobot leader gave her a hug. "Unfortunately, you can not force anyone to make the right choice but you can do so yourself and perhaps inspire those around you to also help others who need it."

Peach was comforted by this. "I'll always try my best to remember that."

(Sometime later, Sideways' POV)

Peach was finally out of the medical bay after a little over 2 weeks recovering. I had decided to postpone the move so that we could all go to our new home together; myself, Peaches, Aaron, Abby, Crystal and of course, Snowball would be leaving today in order to get settled in. My sparkmate had been having a talk with Optimus and Elita, reassuring them that we both would be fine as well as be alert for any other Decepticons that might still be out there.

When Peaches was ready, she hugged everyone on base goodbye, even Mearing, who seemed relieved that the femme would not be able to do that so often anymore. We already had everything we needed from our quarters packed into subspace and both human kids had used the bathroom, even though we would only be driving about 2-3 hours to get to where we were going.

I opened the door to my alt mode and Peaches put Snowball's kennel on the seat. We checked to be sure that said dog was in the kennel and that all 3 children were in the backseat. They were so we bid everyone a good bye and I heard Optimus say "Till all are one my friends".

"Till all are one" Peaches and I repeated as we headed west towards the state of Virginia, ending one chapter of our lives and beginning another.

Four days later, we were all settled in. It was 8:00 p.m., meaning that the kids had to get into bed in about half an hour.

"Why do we have to go to bed early?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah" Crystal added.

Peach sighed but was able to come up with a good explanation. "Kids, your father and I are older than you so we can stay up later and don't need nearly as much rest. Also he and I need to have what we call our 'special alone time' together where we do things to show how much we love each other that you can't see or do until you're grown up. Don't try to walk in on us any of you, is that clear?"

"Yes Mommy." Abby and Crystal replied.

"Okay." Aaron said, seemingly satisfied with my sparkmate's answer.

"Okay son, go ahead and get ready; when I've got your sisters' PJs on, I'll tell all 3 of you a story." I told them.

When they all were ready, Peaches cleaned the kitchen and I took both humans and one sparkling into the living room of the former-warehouse-turned-living-space and made up a story to tell them. All of them liked it but were asleep by the end of it.

"Sideways, I'll put them into their beds." My sparkmate volunteered.

"Go ahead love; I can wait a few more minutes." I told her, handing all 3 younglings over to her.

Peaches took them to their own rooms, and I went into our quarters and wiped the berth off, even though it didn't really need cleaning. Maybe I was obsessing too much about perfection since for both my femme and I, this was the first time we had ever done something like sparkbonding but I still felt it had to be done.

"I'm here my mech; the children are all recharging, safe and sound." The orange and red femme I had known for nearly 2 years said to me as she walked in 10 minutes later. She sounded just as nervous as I was.

I got onto the berth, she lay down next to me and I told her "You know, we don't have to do this now."

"I rather would." Peaches replied, somewhat quietly. "It's just that I'm scared."

"Peach, I will stop if you ask me to." I reassured her as I began rubbing her back and embraced her.

"You promise?" she asked, still slightly apprehensie.

"I promise." I replied. "There's nothing to be scared of; the kids are safe in their beds, Snowball's inside and we have the security system on to warn us of any intruders.

"That's not what I"m scared of." Peaches admitted.

I grinned, not evilly but in a mischievious way. I slipped one hand under the plating that resembled clothed human breasts and felt the liquid that made up the protoform underneath.

"Sideways!" She wanted to scold me but I could tell that she was enjoying it. "That's what I was scared of!"

"I told you shouldn't be, Peaches." I replied laughing a little bit.

"That's not funny!" Peaches insisted but she was holding back her own laughter.

She would not admit to liking it if I had asked her but I moved my hand away to ease her fears. For a while, we just kissed each other and interfaced then came the actual sparkbonding. Both of our sparks briefly leaving their casing and merging together can't really be described here. Whether one could describe it or not, soon I could see Peaches' memories as a human and everything she had been through after finding out that she was Cybertronian; she in turn saw my time as a sparkling, my service in the Decepticon army and my near death as well as what happened when I had met her and afterwards.

When we finally let go each of each other, our sparks behind their protective casings, we both smiled.

"That was insanely pleasing." Peaches said.

"I think you 'hit the nail on the head' with that description as humans say." I replied, smiling and relieved that we had both been able to do this.

That was when we heard Crystal screaming; we both got up and ran to her room. After Peaches found a new lightbulb for the nightlight and I comforted our youngest daughter to assure that whatever the nightmare was that she was having was not going to happen, she was in recharge again. We went back to our own quarters and settled down to also get our recharge for the night.

"I think I've had enough excitement for one night." I admitted.

"We'll wait a while before doing that again." Peaches said. "It's not that I didn't like it; I actually did."

I embraced Peaches; I had had a feeling she was going to admit it but hadn't thought it would be soon afterwards. Still, we recharged well and had only pleasant dreams of each other, the children, Snowball, and our human and Cybertronian friends. I was confident that a new home and a new member of the family was just the beginning of the next chapter of our adventures that we would have throughout the rest of our lives even though in some ways it was sad knowing that the previous one had ended.

Several months went by; Peaches and I had another sparkling who she insisted on naming "Silver Dollar" after her 2nd favorite theme park Silver Dollar City or "Silver" for short; he had been one of the hatchlings discovered in Chicago and we had insisted on taking him in. He was 2 months old and quite a handful but loved his siblings. We also had taken in a human foster child named Tyler, a redhead who was 8 years old right now. It was also Christmas time again; this time, we were all spending it in our home. Optimus and Elita came to visit us on Christmas Eve, much to the delight of all of the kids, human and Cybertronian alike as well as ours.

"Story please?" Abby asked.

"First, we need to tell your parents some good news." Elita said smiling.

"What's that?" Peaches asked.

"Silver will soon have a playmate close to his age." Optimus replied. "Elita and I are going to have our own sparkling after all this time."

"Congratulations." we both said.

"Story now please!" Crystal insisted, getting impatient with all of us "grown ups".

The last of the Primes smiled. "Which story do you want to hear?"

"Could you tell us where Autobots and Decepticons came from?" Tyler wondered.

"Well, when a mech and femme love each other-" I started to tell him.

"Sideways don't!" Peaches warned me. "I think they mean what happened before Cybertronians came to Earth eg the beginning of our race and everything after that."

"Yeah, that's what I meant." the red haired human became embarassed.

Elita One then let the kids climb onto her lap and some of them climbed onto Optimus, except for Silver who wanted to stay in his mother's arms. We didn't mind though; we stood by and listened to the story we had heard before, excited that the next generation was hearing it for the first time in their lives.

Optimus Prime began the story as he always had when he told it. "Before time began, there was the cube..."

Author's note: I'm kind of sad that this is ending but I have other things I want to work on, including my first Transformers: Cybertron story as well as finally getting the next chapter of Transformers: the bonds of family finished and uploaded.


End file.
